Upload
matthew-morgan
View
214
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Cultura de Colores(Grupo de Artesanas)
Texas A&M UniversityAugust 21, 2014
Template provided by LBS Business Brigade, April 2013.
BUSINESS : Cultura de ColoresName Yasmila Bacorizo, President
Nuvia Faraquito, Treasurer
Araseli Cabezon, Secretary
Eneida Opua
Irsalia Bacorizo
Business overview
Cultura de Colores is a women’s artisanal group in the Pueblo Nuevo community comprised of five women with a President, Treasurer, and newly added Secretary among them. The women work together to create and sell handmade traditional Wounaan goods including baskets, chaquiras, parumas, and other artisanal products. The women originally started the group in order to receive a capital investment from the government meant to aid small businesses. When received, these funds will help the women purchase supplies to make the products and to host their community barbeques which are meant to raise capital. The primary goal of the women of Cultura de Colores is to save money to put toward their children’s education and improve their futures. They eventually aim to save enough through the caja rural to have a lit sign at the entrance of the community to attract passing tourists and to open a small store to further establish their business.
TEXAS A&M BUSINESS BRIGADE
The Business Brigade Experience
Propose Solutions
(Da
XYZ BUSINESS BRIGADETEXAS A&M BUSINESS BRIGADE
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3
Only two of the artisanal group members were present. Neither the President nor Treasurer were in attendance. This made it difficult to ask them questions and really get a sense of how the business was run. We were confused as to the purpose of forming the group in the first place. We found out the cost of the supplies, hours put in to making the products, and a general sense of the profit made for each of the products. They asked for ideas for names for the business.
All five members attended the meeting on the second day. Having all members made a huge difference. The President expressed their mission and vision for the business, as well as giving a more in depth history of the group. We presented our ideas for prospective names for the business, and the members chose Cultura de Colores. We also exchanged ideas for creating a logo and sign.
Having created signs the previous night, we met with Cultura de Colores and presented them with the sign. We also helped them to define the roles for each of the positions within the group, including the President and Treasurer. The women also decided to elect a secretary and we facilitated an election in which a member was chosen. The newly elected secretary was given an agenda to plan biweekly meetings to keep the group on track.
BUSINESS: Cultura de Colores President Responsible Lending Member Unity Vision
Strengths - Strong communication
skills
- Leadership qualities
- Takes responsibility for
the group
- Has knowledge of their
purpose and the
benefits of being a
group
- Demonstrates a desire
to grow the business
- Leads her team to
achieve their overall
goals
- Cash profits from the
business kept at
members’ homes are
not to exceed $100
- Any money above
$100 is moved to the
Caja de Ahorros
- Money is lent to
responsible candidates
who will be able to
repay the loan
- Exhibit trust for all
other members
- All members are
motivated by providing
education to their
children
- Help to hold each other
accountable
- If a member chooses
to leave the group, the
funds will be evenly
divided
- Plan to put anticipated
government money
toward eventually
opening a small shop
in the community
- Despite, competition,
they feel they can
compete with other
communities to attract
tourists to buy their
goods
XYZ BUSINESS BRIGADETEXAS A&M BUSINESS BRIGADE
Commitment Marketing Budgeting Raising Capital
Challenges - Keeping members
accountable for
attending meetings
- Holding biweekly
meetings to keep track
of how member’s are
contributing to the
business
- Having members
consistently working
and making products
- Establishing
themselves as a
distinct, identifiable
group
- Attracting tourists from
the cities and other
areas to buy their
products, thereby
competing with other
communities
- Need to gain a better
understanding of their
customer base
- Members still seemed
to have questionable
knowledge of
budgeting
- Often seemed to not
know how much
money certain events
raised or how much
was in accounts
- Overbuying supplies
and not adequately
preparing for when
groups were expected
to visit
- Becoming complacent
after gaining large
sums, not realizing
they still need to raise
funds to grow the
business
- Coming up with
creative ideas aside
from the barbeques to
raise capital
BUSINESS: Cultura de Colores
XYZ BUSINESS BRIGADETEXAS A&M BUSINESS BRIGADE
Meetings Sign Budgeting Raising Capital
Proposed
solutions
- A secretary was
elected to take
meeting attendance
- The secretary was
given an agenda to
plan when meetings
would be held
- A minimum of biweekly
was established
- The roles of each
officer position was
written down and
established
- Created a name
(Cultura de Colores) to
identify the group
- Made a sign with a
distinct logo to market
the group and to
create a distinct
identity
- Further explained
budgeting concepts
throughout the week
both in the afternoon
and mornings
- Promoted specifically
planning for when
customers were
expected
- Emphasized the
importance of
constantly working,
even when there were
plentiful funds,
including trying to
implement a
contribution monthly
minimum
- Brainstorming other
organized efforts to
raise capital
BUSINESS: Cultura de Colores
XYZ BUSINESS BRIGADETEXAS A&M BUSINESS BRIGADE
BUSINESS: Cultura de Colores
Further details / observations
Useful Information:• Aside from the President, member participation was very limited and it was difficult to get them to
contribute to the group• When describing the business, it often seemed more like a hobby than a job, as they would make the
goods in their spare time and were hesitant to implement any monthly production quota
XYZ BUSINESS BRIGADETEXAS A&M BUSINESS BRIGADE
Information gathered after initial questions
• Pricing• Time required to make products• Materials costs• Member roles• Mission/vision• Raising capital (barbeques)
BUSINESS 1: Cultura de Colores
Next steps
Immediate changes • Check and see if they have had biweekly meetings • Have maintained their roles (President, Treasurer, and Secretary) within the group• Have an updated agenda
Short-term changes(within 3 months)
• Creating a sign by the road to attract customers to Cultura de Colores• Spoke with Mel about opening a business account in the Caja Rural specifically for Cultura
de Colores
Medium – longer term changes (+3 months)
• Opening a small shop within the community to further establish their business• Growing in members• Growing their customer base and marketing
XYZ BUSINESS BRIGADETEXAS A&M BUSINESS BRIGADE
TEXAS A&M BUSINESS BRIGADE
Advice for Future Brigades:
Useful Information:• Always be patient• Always have a smile on your face• Be as creative as possible• Keep things simple• Repeat important information• Be open-minded• Encourage members whenever possible• Be approachable and attentive
Best practices for delivering workshops
Useful Information:
• Keep the discussions simple and engaging• Have ice breakers to help the community members open up• Try to have the community members up and moving at some point • Use graphics when possible
XYZ BUSINESS BRIGADE
BUSINESS 1: Cultura de Colores
Contact details
Business owner • Name: • Phone number:
• Name: • Phone number:
Coordinator • Name: Mel Brown• Phone number: • Email:
Translator • Name: Carolina Garron• Phone number: 62178195• Email: [email protected]
Texas A&M Business Brigade Team
TEXAS A&M BUSINESS BRIGADE